%0 Journal Article %A Dobado González, Antonio %A López Maroto, Antonio %T An introduction to the dark energy problem %D 2009 %@ 0004-640X %U https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/43813 %X In this work we review briefly the origin and history of the cosmological constant and its recent reincarnation in the form of the dark energy component of the universe. We also comment on the fundamental problems associated to its existence and magnitude which require an urgent solution for the sake of the internal consistency of theoretical physics. %~